Say the words, “Common Core State Standards,” and be prepared to have people choosing sides. The Common Core State Standards have been in the news and sparking controversy for quite a while.
As a teacher, I have seen many educational trends come and go. A joke among teachers is that the one thing you can count on is that the current teaching trend will soon change. Teachers just take new teaching trends in stride, knowing that they will be around for several years until the next big change comes along.
So, should homeschoolers care about the Common Core State Standards?
First, it is good to make sure that parents know that the Common Core State Standards are not a curriculum. Common Core is a list of educational standards, which are statements of expectation of what knowledge and skills a student should gain in each grade level. A curriculum is the detailed plan of HOW to teach a student the standards, which is decided by school districts and teachers.
Why would homeschoolers want to use Common Core State Standards – even if they don’t agree with some of the standards themselves? Let’s explore the answers.
1) Homeschoolers can look at the Common Core State Standards as simply a free resource to get ideas about what to teach their child at each grade level.
2) By using Common Core as a reference, homeschoolers can have a better understanding of what their children could learn in each grade level. This can be especially important if your child is competing with public school students for scholarships and college admissions, or if your child participates in local educational fairs – like spelling bees or art contests.
3) As with any resource used for teaching, parents can pick and choose which concepts in the resource they teach and which they skip. Just because a parent uses Common Core as one resource, it doesn’t mean that every single expectation has to be taught or met.
4) If homeschoolers have a concern about a particular standard, they can either skip the standard that concerns them or teach their children why they have concerns about the particular standard.
While I personally have some concerns about Common Core, I also see that it does have value to homeschoolers as a free list of things to consider teaching your child. It doesn’t require you to check off every standard. It is just one reference to use as you see fit for your child.
It is also noteworthy that the 7 states that choose not to follow the Common Core State Standards each have their own state standards. I also use my local state standards as a reference on a weekly basis to guide what I am teaching my children, and add other sources to build our curriculum as well.
Personally, I use Evan-Moor as my primary publisher for resources. Evan-Moor offers a wealth of lessons in their TeacherFileBox lesson library. It saves time by enabling me to search for ready-made activities by skill and subject. You can also search TeacherFileBox by Common Core or state standard in various subjects. Click here to learn more about TeacherFileBox.
Evan-Moor has titles for math, reading, language, social studies, writing, critical thinking, and more! Check out these quality resources on the website: www.evan-moor.com.
So, should homeschool families care about Common Core? Well, homeschoolers, you have the right to choose, and I know you will choose wisely for your family.
Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website http://www.thrivehomeschooling.com.
Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.
Karina Ruiz has four years of experience working with children for non-profit after-school programming for K–12 and four years of nanny work. She is currently a volunteer intern and attends California State University, Monterey Bay.
Smart Start Sight Words
Once children are actively reading, the next critical step is getting them to understand the author’s role in a book.
After we read a book, it is always interesting to hear my students answer the question, “Why do you think this author wrote this book?”
The kids’ answers are always so completely honest that this is a question I enjoy asking children. At first, the answers are simple – to tell a story or share facts. But if you let children keep thinking, you will start to get answers like:
To me, these are priceless moments in teaching a child to fully comprehend a story.
The next question I ask students is, “When you think about the author’s voice in this book, why do you think she chose the words she did? Can you tell how he was feeling about this story?” Students will learn to think a little deeper about why the author wrote the book.
The last question I ask students is, “Is there a message that this author wants us to understand?” This last question will really require some thought, so be prepared to wait through the silence for them to think of an answer. It is usually worth the wait.
If I haven’t yet convinced you to teach your kids to understand the author’s role, this is one more brilliant reason: when students begin to evaluate the author’s role and voice, they will start to be more mindful when they are writing their own stories. Students will incorporate their own messages or memories to share, and they will improve the quality of their own writing.
I would love to hear from you about what your children are saying about an author’s message. Please leave a comment and share some of your kids’ brilliant insight.
One of the most highly anticipated activities for springtime is the egg in vinegar experiment. When April comes around, eggs, dye, and vinegar fill classrooms and kitchens everywhere. For a twist on this time-tested experiment, let’s skip the dye and get straight to the egg. Our science experiment, 
Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.
There is something about winter that makes me want to read stacks and stacks of books with a cup of hot tea nearby. My children are doing the same. They find a stack of books, a warm blanket, and read for at least an hour.
As part of reading instruction, we focus mostly on really understanding what we read. One of our favorite ways is to read books by the same author. We examine the author’s writing style, the choice of words. We look for patterns in the stories. We try to figure out why the author wrote each book.
I adore having these conversations with my children. They give priceless insights into their thinking, their connections, and their learning. I use these conversations to bridge into real lessons, but you don’t have to tell my kids that. They just think we are talking about books!
Some of our favorite activities from 
Theresa Wooler has more than 10 years’ experience in K–6 classrooms as a parent volunteer, has taught high school English, and is currently involved in education through Evan-Moor’s marketing communications team.
Dear Homeschoolers,
